BurmaNet News, July 23, 2004

[Editor]

July 23, 2004, Issue # 2523

'Quiet diplomacy is an appropriate means to solve the problem.’
- Thai Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai as quoted in the Nation,
July 23, 2004


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: NLD petitions for Suu Kyi’s release
VOA: Dr. Zarni of Free Burma Coalition recounts his recent visit to Burma
SHAN: Kokang not just drugs; leaders hit out at Rangoon

ON THE BORDER
Inter Pares: The Killing Fields of Shan State – Photo Essay

BUSINESS / MONEY
AFX: China Non-ferrous Metal to invest 500 mln usd in Myanmar nickel
mining -report

REGIONAL
Nation: Thaksin to urge Burma to attend Thailand sponsored talks
People’s Daily Online: China to promote all-round cooperation with
Myanmar, defense minister
FEER: Thaksin's next campaign

OPINION / OTHER
Daily Telegraph: British policy in Burma is flawed and failing
Irrawaddy: The Buddhist summit in military-ruled Burma

INSIDE BURMA
______________________________________

July 23, Irrawaddy
NLD Petitions for Suu Kyi’s Release - Shah Paung

More than 700 people in Rangoon have signed a petition this week calling
for the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political
prisoners in military-ruled Burma.

U Lwin, spokesman for Burma’s main opposition party, the National League
for Democracy, or NLD, said that as of yesterday about 600 party members
and 100 others had signed the petition, which calls for the release of all
political prisoners, including Suu Kyi and party chairman Tin Oo. The two
have been confined to their homes for more than a year. The petition also
called on the junta to reopen all NLD offices throughout the country.

The campaign began on July 19, at the 57th Martyrs Day commemoration at
the party’s headquarters in Rangoon. In the following days, party members
in Mandalay and Sagaing divisions signed the petition. Petitions are
placed at temporary party offices and at the homes of elected NLD
representatives.

Military authorities are generally quick to clamp down on such activities
but have made no arrests so far.

Suu Kyi and Tin Oo were detained during the May 30 attack on the
opposition’s motorcade in Depayin in northern Burma. The attack killed
dozens, perhaps hundreds of opposition supporters. The junta closed the
party’s offices after the attack.

______________________________________

July 22, Voice of America
Dr. Zarni of Free Burma Coalition recounts his recent visit to Burma -
Khin Maung Htay

Washington: Dr. Zarni, founder of a U.S.-based grassroots organization the
Free Burma Coalition, recently visited Rangoon for one day and met with
officials of the Ministry of Defense.

In an interview with VOA Burmese Service, Dr. Zarni said his confidential
visit to Burma on May 31, 2004 was made possible by the U.S. government in
terms of logistical support and official encouragement.

The Burmese dissident who has been active for the last nine years in
pushing sanctions against the military junta in Burma with great success
has recently taken a different political stance citing what he calls the
“geo-political realities” within and beyond the Southeast Asian region
with regard to Burma and the need to explore an alternative approach to
national reconciliation and democratization in the military-ruled nation.

Dr. Zarni said the purpose of his Burma trip during which he exchanged
views with three Burmese military intelligence officials was to see if
there are constructive ways to help build bridge between the National
League for Democracy and State Peace and Development Council and to find
out ways in which the United States can be more constructive about helping
break the political stalemate in Rangoon, rather than simply increasing
sanctions.

Burmese officials, however, did not permit Dr. Zarni to see Aung San Suu
Kyi nor other NLD leaders to exchange views with them.

To download the full interview, please visit:

http://www.voanews.com/Burmese/article.cfm?objectID=7A22F253-9411-4773-99ABAB43F4726E28&title=Dr%2E%20Zarni%20of%20Free%20Burma%20Coalition%20Recounts%20His%20Recent%20Visit%20to%20Burma

______________________________________

July 23, Shan Herald Agency for News
Kokang not just drugs; Leaders hit out at Rangoon

Kokang leaders interviewed by the Salween News Network correspondent in
Laukkai during his June visit, after getting assurances that they would
not be quoted, spoke frankly about their views on both their ongoing
relationship with the military government and its National Convention,
reports SNN:

With regards to the National Convention (17 May - 9 July) where they had
sent five of their delegates led by Peng's younger brother Jiafu, two of
the top leaders interviewed by SNN expressed somewhat contrasting
opinions.

One had obviously chosen to have adopted the policy of discretion. "Of
course, we are glad to be able to participate in the meeting, but with the
non-attendance of the NLD (National League for Democracy of Aung San Suu
Kyi), it is hard to tell how it's going to turn out," he said.

Pressed further by SNN, he gave in a little, "If all parties are ready to
listen to each other, it'll turn out right. But if one side is going to
force its will on the others as of old, nothing good will be achieved."

Asked how it was going at the Convention, he replied, "Our delegates were
allowed to present their views, but whether or not they are accepted is up
to them (the Burmese government)."

The other leader was more critical. "I support the NLD's decision to
boycott it," he said. "Since they are not going to budge, what's the use
of attending and saying what they are not going to listen. And since they
are not going to give up their power, there is nothing of substance we can
expect from their words. Without sincerity, the future of Burma is dim."

Kokang,together with Wa and Mongla, two other ceasefire groups, had
reportedly called for Rangoon to place their territories under Rangoon's
direct administration. "There is a lot of cross-border trade going on
here," one of the officers from Mongla explained to S.H.A.N. later, "and
we don't want to waste time going through all the red tape."

On the question of the ongoing truce, both of the leasers appeared to find
more common ground.

"Compared to other ceasefire groups in the hinterland, we are enviably
better off," conceded one. "And the truce with Rangoon has undeniably been
good for the people whatever the difficulties are between us. Things are
getting better on the whole. With little interference from the government,
our growth would have been even faster. But with more interference, all
our achievements are in danger of going down the drain."

Another leader also voiced his misgiving about Rangoon. "Before the
ceasefire in 1989, we spent time fighting against the government," he
said. "Today, we no longer have to fight them. That is good. But what's
not good is that they have not stopped sowing divisions among us."

>From 1991 - 95, a bitter infighting broke out between the Pengs and
another faction led by Yang Mouliang. Five years later, another Kokang's
splinter group, Mongkoe Defense Army, fell into oblivion after Rangoon
launched an operation that crushed both of its warring factions.


ON THE BORDER
______________________________________

July 23, Inter Pares
The Killing Fields of Shan State – Photo Essay

In February 2004, several Inter Pares' staff members hiked into the
mountains on the Thailand-Burma border to speak with refugees from Burma's
Shan State. This is a report of their visit.

>From the town of Chiang Rai in Thailand we drive northwards. Soon we are
in the hill country, climbing a winding road into the heart of the "golden
triangle." To the east of us is the Laos border. To the west is Burma
(Myanmar); a bit farther north is the border of China. As the road becomes
progressively steeper our truck engine groans in protest.

To view the photo essay and full text, please see:
http://www.interpares.ca/en/photo_essay/3/index.php


BUSINESS / MONEY
______________________________________

July 23, AFX
China Non-ferrous Metal to invest 500 mln usd in Myanmar nickel mining
-report

Shanghai: China Non-ferrous Metal Mining & Construction (CNMC) has gained
approval from Myanmar authorities to invest 500 mln usd in nickel mining
operations in that country, the South China Morning Post said.

The Hong Kong-based English language daily said that CNMC has received
permission to explore 40 sq km in the country's northern Mandalay region,
and that preliminary studies have revealed an average nickel content of
about 2 pct, with likely total reserves of about 800,000 metric tons.

It plans to invest 500 mln usd to build a 30,000 ton-a-year nickel
production plant at the site.

"The project is CNMC's latest overseas project, after its copper mine
investment in Zambia, zinc mine investment in Mongolia and a lead-antimony
alloy factory in Thailand," the company was quoted as saying in a
statement.

China is the world's fastest-growing market for the metal, about 65 pct of
which goes into stainless steel manufacture, with imports climbing 110 pct
last year to 80,779 tonnes.

The report said that China Jinchuan, the nation's largest nickel miner,
produced about 60,000 tons of nickel last year - about 88 pct of the
country's output.

Of the 80,779 tons of nickel China imported last year, 31.1 pct was from
Russia, 29.5 pct from Australia and 15.9 pct from Canada, the report said.

Tight global supplies and Chinese demand have seen three-month nickel
futures jump as much as 73.5 pct over the past year to 15,025 usd a ton.


REGIONAL
______________________________________

July 23, The Nation
Thaksin to urge Burma to attend Thailand sponsored talks - Rungrawee C
Pinyorat

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will urge Burma to attend the Bangkok
Process when he meets with his Burmese counterpart Khin Nyunt next week in
an effort to break the political deadlock in the military ruled country,
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said yesterday.

Khin Nyunt will visit Bangkok next week to attend the summit known as
Bimstec, or the Bangladesh, India, Myanmar (Burma), Sri Lanka, Thailand
Economic Cooperation. The two leaders will hold talks on the sidelines of
the summit.

Thailand organised the first round of a dialogue with Burma dubbed the
Bangkok Process in December, but the second meeting scheduled for April
was abruptly cancelled following Burma's refusal to attend. Hans Van den
Broek, the European Union special envoy who is on a regional tour taking
in Japan, China, Vietnam and Thailand to discuss possible new membership
in the Asia Europe Meeting (Asem), met with Surakiart yesterday but
refused to disclose details of their discussion.

'Quiet diplomacy is an appropriate means to solve the problem,' he said.

Surakiart yesterday reiterated Asean (Association of Southeast Asian
Nations)'s stance that Cambodia, Laos and Burma should be included as a
package and without conditions in exchange for the inclusion of 10 new EU
members.

The UK has expressed strong opposition to the inclusion of Burma unless
substantial political progress is made in the country including the
release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Two Asem ministerial meetings were cancelled after members from the two
regions could not reach a conclusion over the Burma dispute. The issue
also threatens that the Asem 5 Summit scheduled to be held in Hanoi could
be cancelled.

'We have to respect Burma by allowing them to make their own decision on
the level of participation,' said Surakiart.

Surakiart added that Thailand wanted to see more 'flexibility' on the part
of the Burmese government and the opposition party, the National League
for Democracy (NLD), so that the NLD could take part in the National
Convention to draft a new constitution.
'The Asem 5 Summit is very significant for partnership between Asia and
Europe and we don't want the process to stall because of the new
membership issue,' Surakiart said. Vietnam, the host of the Asem 5 summit,
will also dispatch a special envoy to discuss the matter with Burma, he
said.

______________________________________

July 23, People’s Daily Online
China to promote all-round cooperation with Myanmar, defense minister

China is willing to cooperate with Myanmar and continue to strengthen
bilateral relations, Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan said Thursday.

He made the remark during his meeting with visiting First Secretary of
Myanmar State Peace and Development Council and Chief of Air Defense
Forces Soe Win.

Cao, also vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission and state
councilor, said China and Myanmar are friendly neighbors and the people of
the two countries have a deep, brotherly friendship for a long time.

Although both international circumstances and the two countries' domestic
situations have undergone great changes, China-Myanmar relations, which
are based on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, still see
further consolidation and development since China and Myanmar established
diplomatic ties over half a century ago, he said.

Soe Win spoke highly of Myanmar-China relations and the relationship of
the two armed forces, saying that Myanmar fully values such friendship and
is willing to strengthen bilateral exchanges and cooperation in all
fields.

Soe made an eight-day visit to China at the invitation of the General
Staff of Chinese People's Liberation Army.

______________________________________

July 29, Far Eastern Economic Review
Thaksin's next campaign

Intelligence

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on August 6 will launch his latest
law-and-order campaign, this one aimed at curbing human-trafficking
syndicates. Thaksin's deputies have told representatives of foreign-aid
agencies that the drive against traffickers will be given a level of
priority equal to last year's controversial anti-narcotics campaign, which
resulted in the deaths of around 2,500 drug suspects, according to a tally
by Thailand's independent National Human-Rights Commission. Bangkok-based
human-migration experts say that the new campaign will be run from a new
national human-trafficking centre to be managed by the Thai police. The
move, it appears, comes in response to United States diplomatic pressure.
The U.S. earlier this year placed Thailand on a special watch list of
countries that Washington perceived were not doing enough to curb human
trafficking. Thailand has long been considered a regional
human-trafficking hub, particularly in women from poor neighbouring
countries being brought into Thailand's massive prostitution industry.


OPINION / OTHER
______________________________________

July 23, The Daily Telegraph
British policy in Burma is flawed and failing

Sir - Anton La Guardia (report, July 21) highlights the row between
Britain on the one hand, and both Asia and Europe on the other, over how
best to handle the recalcitrant military junta in Burma.

There is no difference in objectives. Britain, Asia and Europe all want a
free and stable Burma. All advocate reconciliation between the military
and the people. No Nuremberg.

Britain thinks this can best be achieved by ostracism and sanctions. This
is politically the easy option, which keeps activism at bay. So Britain
presses for a tourist boycott and a visa ban against almost any relative
of the junta's leading officials. It has recently induced the EU to freeze
the assets of the four-year-old grandson of the director-general of
tourism and to brand him as "not wanted in Europe".

Asia and most of Europe believe in quiet diplomacy. This is more directly
helpful to the Burmese people, but has costs in terms of time, resources
and political capital. With Britain, domestic political expediency
outweighs any attempt to open up Burma to external influences. Jose
Ramos-Horta, the Nobel peace prize laureate, commented recently: "Rather
than intensifying an international boycott that shows no sign of
persuading the junta to change its views, a better strategy would be to
make it more vulnerable to foreign pressure by encouraging tourism and
foreign investment."

Unfortunately, his Nobel companion, Aung San Suu Kyi, still says the
opposite, and Britain is so hooked on Suu Kyi that the Government cannot
bring itself to engage with the junta. Yet Jack Straw extols engagement
with Iran. Why not with Burma?

Derek Tonkin
British Ambassador to Thailand, 1986-89
Guildford, Surrey

______________________________________

July 23, Irrawaddy
The Buddhist summit in military-ruled Burma - Wai Moe

The fourth World Buddhist Summit will be held in military-ruled Burma for
three days, beginning this December 9. The ruling State Peace and
Development Council, or SPDC, plans to invite about 150 delegates from
Buddhist organizations in almost 30 countries. The summit will be held in
cooperation with the Japanese Nenbutsushu Buddhists.

Buddhism is inextricable from Burmese culture. And by hosting this summit,
the junta is hoping to score some public relations points at home and
abroad.

Upon closer inspection, however, the junta has been hostile to Buddhism
within the country. There are around 400,000 monks in Burma, roughly
equaling the number of soldiers in the Burma Army. This similarity in
numbers reflects the junta’s concern that Buddhism’s influence in culture
and government rivals their own.

Currently, the regime divides monks into categories such as state monks,
ordinary monks, senior monks, and young monks. In reality, senior monks
represent the government’s interests. The military regime donates funds to
these monks in exchange for the monks’ non-interference in politics and
public affairs. These donations are not part of the Buddhist way; monks
are not supposed to accept bribes.

To be fair, the alternatives to working with the junta are harsh. Monks
who object to military rule are arrested, then forced to cast off their
robes. In Buddhist doctrine, this kind of maltreatment of monks is
disgraceful and a violation of religious law.

The regime has a long history of oppressing even revered Buddhist figures.
>From 1962 to 1980 Burmese monks often joined with students and laborers to
protest military rule. On several occasions the military violently
disrupted all public demonstrations and, in the process, is believed to
have killed many monks.

In 1965, more than seven hundred monks in Hmawbi, near Rangoon, were
arrested for refusing to accept government rule. In 1974 during the
demonstrations for U Thant’s funeral, several monks were bayoneted and six
hundred more arrested. After another demonstration in 1976 the junta
sought to discredit La Ba, a monk persistently critical of the regime, by
accusing him of murder and cannibalism. In 1978, more monks and novices
were arrested, disrobed, and imprisoned. Monasteries were closed and
property seized.

During this time, the military also arrested U Nayaka, a monk of Arakan
ethnicity in charge of Su Htoo Pan monastery in Rangoon. Several days
later, government spokespeople told the other monks at the monastery that
U Nayaka had hanged himself at an intelligence camp. However, most people
believe that the monk was killed for his strong disagreement with military
rule.

Violence against monks continued into the 1980s. During the 1988 uprising
SPDC troops gunned down monks. After the coup, monk leaders were arrested,
disrobed, and sentenced to long-term imprisonment. The junta’s court
sentenced U Kawiya, a monk leader in Mandalay, to death in 1989.

On August 27, 1990, a meeting of over seven thousand monks in Mandalay
called for a boycott of the military. The monks collectively refused to
accept alms from military families or perform services for them. In
response, the military regime forcibly seized monasteries around the
country and arrested hundreds of monks, including senior monks such as U
Sumangala and U Yewata. The monks faced long-term imprisonment, and all
boycotting monks were disrobed. During interrogation, some monks were
tortured.

In general, prison life is not easy for monks trying to keep their
religious beliefs alive. They must wear lay dress and cannot shave their
heads. The prison officials do not offer monks the traditional dawn meal,
and often use rude and offensive terms when speaking to them. Because of
the unhealthy and brutal conditions, some monks die soon after being
released, like U Yewata.

But government-led oppression of monks often takes less violent but more
insidious forms. In 1980 the junta, then under Sein Lwin, the Home and
Religious Affairs Minister at the time, called for the cleansing of
Buddhism and also organized the State Buddhist monk conference. This lead
to the founding of the State Sangha council, consisting mostly of
junta-appointed monks. The junta, officially supporting Theravada
Buddhism, banned other forms of Buddhist expression, which resulted in the
disrobing of a number of monks. Moreover, after the 1988 uprising, U
Nyanissara, a senior monk, recorded a tape which discussed democracy in
Buddhist precepts. This tape was banned.

The Lord Buddha taught that everybody has the right to peacefully express
his own opinions. But the government is proving that it cares little for
Buddhism, unless it can use the religion to get what it wants. Today, the
international Buddhist community must encourage the junta to practice the
five basic tenets of Buddhism—bans on murder, deceit, etc—and maintain
respect for monks. Otherwise, the World Buddhism Summit will ring hollow
for true practitioners of the religion.

Wai Moe is a former student activist now living in exile.